“Carriers of Culture” Planning Groups

Because this project encompasses such a great number of culturally distinctive and widely dispersed weaving traditions and because it was important to have as many voices as possible weighing in the decisions about what selections of ideas, objects, and artists would be made for the different components of the project, four teams of individuals are engaged in the development of “Carriers.”

Project Management/Curatorial Leadership Team: The group of individuals at Michigan State University Museum and the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage who have the primary responsibility for planning and implementation of “Carriers.”

Curatorial Advisory Council: This group of twelve is the core group of advisors to the administrative project team.  The Curatorial Advisory Council members engage in on-going discussion about the topics/themes of the festival and exhibit; offer and evaluate suggestions of artists, traditions, stories, objects, and resources to be included in the project components;  assist in fundraising by identifying and sometimes soliciting resources; and help identify and solicit sites for the exhibit.

Advisory Circle: This group represents individuals who, through either on-going or short-term consultations, have substantially assisted in the development of one or more components of the project and represents a community member or individual who has a “stake” in the success of the project.

New Generation/Youth Curatorial Advisors: Youth are the key to the continuation of Native basket traditions, this group is actively involved in documenting artists, collecting basket stories, and making suggestions for the exhibit and festival selections.